Sea turtle eggs found on Chura Sun Beach

A nest of sea turtle eggs were found on Chura Sun Beach, a man-made beach in Tomigusuku popular among both locals and tourists. There were also footprints of the turtle on the beach. The nest contains about a hundred eggs that are expected to hatch in about two months.

The beach is the venue of the General Election of AKB48, a popular idol group, on June 17, when thousands of fans are expected to enter the beach.

Motoki Wakatsuki of the Sea Turtle Association of Japan calls for “leaving the eggs as they are, and watching over them with warm heart.” Eggs of green sea turtles were also found on Chura Sun Beach in 2010, and it was confirmed they hatched.

According to Wakatsuki, an artificial beach that is quiet and well managed is ideal for sea turtles to lay eggs, and many have been found on other artificial beaches within Okinawa. There have also been cases when baby turtles have gone on a road or parking lot and gotten into accidents.

Representatives of TSP management joint venture, that is in charge of managing the beach, said, “Following the advice of Mr. Wakatsuki, we are enclosing the site of the eggs, and will educate visitors about the sea turtles by installing signboards.” They also plan to turn the illumination off when the eggs are about to hatch to help baby turtles to go back to the sea easier.

According to the Research Association of Sea Turtles at the University of the Ryyus, sea turtles are endangered species, as their nesting grounds have been decreasing. They say the idea of turning the illumination off is brilliant, and they hope that the idea will spread to other places.